Mail-bag attachment and delivering apparatus.



N0. 652,584. Patented June 26, I900.

' J. N. BATES. MAIL BAG ATTACHMENT AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Dec. 7, 1898.)

(No Model.)

2 Sheets$heet I,

I N FEJV TOR 75072 e3 izwztys A'ttOr/Zg m: nonms versus cu.FNOTO-LlTHO-WASHINGTUN. I:v c.

WITNESSES A 7 No. 652,584. Patented June 26, I900, J. H. BATES.

MAIL BAG ATTACHMENT AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Dec. '7, 1896.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

WJTWESSES INVEJVTOR, J (72072 6.9 fl- Ba/ Z&S

3m: Noam #:Tzns cu.v Prune-urns.v WASNINGTON, I: c.

J AMES IIQBATES, OF SOMERSET,KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR OF TIVO-TI-IIRDS TOHENRY G. TRIMBLE AND WILLIAM T. BATES, OF SAME PLACE.

MAIL-BAG ATTACHMENT AND DELIVEING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 652,584, dated June 26,1900.

7 Application filed December 7,1896. Serial No. 614,818. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J AMES H. BATES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Somerset, in the county of Pulaski and State of Kentucky,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-BagAttachments and- Delivering Apparatuses; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and ex-' act description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relatesto mail-bag catching and delivery apparatus, beingdesigned for use upon railway-cars for enabling mail-bags to becollected and distributed at the'various stations throughout the linewhile the train is moving at full speed.

The aim of the present invention is to simplify and improve theconstruction of devices of this character in order that the same may beentirely automatic in operation, requiring little or no attention on thepart of the attendant. p

Withthis general object in view the inven- 2 5 tion consists in certainnovel features and details of construction and arrangement of parts, ashereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings, andincorporated in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portionof a car, showing the doorway and the improved catching and deliveryapparatus applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a side view taken at right anglesto Fig. 1, showing the parts of the apparatus in their 5 operativepositions and also showing the stationary frame for catching themail-bag and holding another bag ready to be caught by the apparatuson'the car. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the stationary crane. Fig. 4.is a o detail perspective view of the suspending device by which amail-bag is hung upon the stationary crane and upon the delivery-arms.

Similar numerals designate corresponding parts in the several figures ofthe drawings.

5 I will first describe theapparatus carried by the car.

1 designates the doorway of the car, provided on opposite sides withbearings 2, in which is journaled a rock-shaft 3, extending across thedoor-opening and provided with a handle 4, by means of which it may beoperated. Secured rigidly to the rock-shaft 3 is a plate 5, along oneedge of which extends an arm 6, the same being deflected at the outeredge of the plate 5 to form a crook or bend 7, in which the mailbag isreceived, the said arm being extended thence obliquely, as indicated at8, to engage with the mail-bag suspended on the stationary cranehereinafter described. Secured to the outer edge of the plate 5 is anL-shaped frame 9, which approaches closely to the oblique portion of thecatcher-arm, and thus 'forms a contracted throat or entrance throughwhich the suspending device of the bag passes, the said frame serving toprevent the accidental displacementof the bag after it is caught. InFig. 1 the parts are shown in their folded positions, while in'Fig. 2the same parts are shown in their extended or operative posi- 7o tions.

10 designates the upper delivery-arm, and 11 the lower delivery-arm.These arms when in their extended position are substantially parallel toeach other and arranged one above 7 5 the other, as shown in Fig. 2, andsaid arms are provided at or near their inner ends with eyes; oropenings for the reception of the hinge-pins 12 of brackets 13, securedto the side of the car, said arms being maintained in place by means ofstay-pins 14., passing through transverse openings in the ends of thehinge-pins 12 and connected by means of chains 15 to the car to preventtheir loss. Interposed between and pivotally connecting 8 5 the arms 10and 11 is a link 16, having its opposite ends 17 reversely deflected inorder to enable the arms 10 and 11 to be folded compactly against theside of the car. The upper delivery-arm 10 is extended beyond its ful-9o crum, where it connects pivotally with the lower deflected end 18 ofa rod 19, which con-- nects pivotally at its upper end with thecatcher-arm 6. By means of this construction as the catcher is rockedinto its operative position the delivery-arms are alsomoved into theiroperative positions, as shown in Fig. 2.

At the outer end of each delivery-arm is a trigger 20, pivoted at apoint intermediate its ends on a vertical pin 21, so that it may swingI00 horizontally. Connected to the inner end of the trigger is a coiledspring 22, attached at its inner end to a pin 23 or fixed point on thedelivery-arm. This spring serves to hold the trigger in longitudinalalinement with the delivery-arm and at the same time allows said triggerto swing horizontally for the purpose of releasing the bag. The triggeris formed at its outer end with a hook 24 for engaging the suspendingdevice of the bag.

The stationary frame comprises a standard or post 25, to the upper endof which are connected horizontal arms 26, the same being spaced apartvertically and provided at their outer ends with triggers 27, similar tothose on the delivery-arms above described. The mail-bag (indicated at28) is supported from these arms 26 by means of a suspending device,which comprises a skeleton ball 29, consisting of two or more ringsarranged one within the other and lying in different planes andconnected at their points of intersection. At the intersection of saidrings openings are formed to receive slidingly a rod 30, provided at oneend with a ring or eye 31 for engagement with the upper trigger 27 ofthe stationary crane and connected at its opposite end to one end of achain 32, having at its opposite end a hook 33.

Within the skeleton ball 29 is a cross-pin 34, which extends through therod 30,and between said cross-pin and the intersection of the ringsforming the skeleton ball is interposed a coiled spring 35, whichsurrounds the rod 31, thus yieldingly supporting the rod 30 and allowingthe same to slide through the skeleton ball as the mail-bag is snatchedby the catcher on the car. In suspending the bag the chain 32 is passedaround the central portion of the bag and the hook 33 engaged with oneof the links of the chain. The ring 31 is now engaged with the triggeron the upper arm 26, while the trigger on the lower arm is engaged withone of the links of the chain, as shown in Fig. 2, and the arms 26 areof sufficient length to hold the mail-bag in such position as to exposethe suspending-chain 32 to the catcher on the train. When the obliqueportion 3 of the catcher strikes the chain 32, said chain is carriedinward beyond the frame 9 and into the crook 7 whereupon the weight ofthe bag causes the skeleton ball 29 to settle and rest upon the catcherin a manner that will be readily understood. The weight of the bag alsoserves to depress the catcher, thus carrying the bag into thedoor-openin g and folding the delivery-arms 10 and 11 against the car.In placing a bag upon the delivery-arms the same may be folded inwardfor facilitating such operation, and afterward the handle 4 may bevibrated for moving the delivery-arms upward, after which the weight ofthe bags suspended thereon will keep said arms in horizontal position.

'Azrranged in front of the post 25 is a pair of spaced uprights 36,having bearings 37 for the reception of the rock-shaft 38 of a catchercatcher.

39, similar to that mounted on the car and de-' scribed above. Thiscatcher is adapted to be' rocked into a horizontal position, as shown infull lines in Fig. 2, for receiving the bag from the train, orin avertical position, as indicated in dotted lines in the same figure. Therockshaft 38 is mounted slidingly in the bearings 37 and is normallyslid forward or toward the direction in which the train is coming bymeans of a coiled spring 40, surrounding the rock-shaft 38 andinterposed between one of the bearings 37 and a projection 41 on the Onthe forward post is a rest 42, adapted to receive the outwardlyprojecting end 43 of the operating-handle 44 of the rock-shaft, wherebythe catcher may be supported in its horizontal or operative position.When the bag is received in the catcher 39, the force of the same movesthe rock-shaft 38 in its bearings, compressing the spring 40, whichserves to cushion the shock, and moving the projection 43 of the handle44 off the rest 42, whereupon the weight of the bag will cause thecatcher to gravitate to its vertical position. (Shown in Fig. 3 and indotted lines in Fig. 2.)

Any reasonable number of mail-bags may be engaged with thesuspending-chain 32, after which the chain is suspended upon thetriggers above described. By folding the delivery-arms against the carthe operation of suspending a bag thereon is greatly facilitated.

The apparatus above described is simple in construction and economicalin manufacture. The combined reach of the catcher and deliverer enablesthe crane to be set at a sufficient distance from the track to reducethe liability of persons on the train becoming injured by contacttherewith. The apparatus is also reliable in operation and by insuringthe proper catching and delivery of the bags prolongs the life thereof.The device will also operate in any kind of weather and is entirelyautomatic in action.

It will be understood that the apparatus is susceptible of variouschanges in the form, proportion, and minordetails of construction, whichmay accordingly be resorted to without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described the invention,what is claimed as new, and desiredto be obtained by Letters Patent, is--- 1. Spaced andsubstantially-parallel delivery-arms having provision for suspending amail-bag, and a link interposed between and connecting said arms causingthem to move simultaneously in the same direction, a mailbag catcher,and a connection interposed. between said catcher and one of saiddeliveryarms whereby said arms operate simultaneously with the catcherbut in a different di rection therefrom, substantially as described.

' 2. The combination with pivoted and spaced delivery-arms,of anS-shaped link interposed between and pivotally connected to said armsbetween their points and fulcrums and having states its opposite endsreversely deflected, and means for vibrating one of said arms,substantially as described.

3. The combination with a mail-bag delivery-arm, of a trigger fulcrumedintermediate its ends on a vertical axis at the outer end of said armand formed at its outer end to engage With the suspending device of themailbag, and a contractile spring secured at one end to said trigger andattached at its opposite end to a fixed point on the delivery-arm,substantially as described.

4. A suspending device for the purpose described, comprising a chainprovided at one end with a hook and having a skeleton ball at itsopposite end, said ball consisting of a plurality of rings intersectingat diametrically opposite points, substantially as described.

5. A suspending device for the purpose described, comprising a chaincomprising a plurality of links and provided at one end with a hook andhaving at its opposite ends a ball yieldingly connected thereto,substantially as described.

6. A suspending device for the purpose described, comprising a skeletonball, a rod slidingly mounted in said ball and provided at one end Witha ring or eye and at its opposite end with a chain having a hook at itsextremity, and a spring surrounding said rod within the ball foryieldingly supporting said rod, substantially as described.

7. A suspending device for the purpose de scribed, consisting of a chainprovided at one end with a hook and having at its opposite end askeleton ball comprising two or more rings arranged one Within the otherand lying in different planes, the said rings being connected at thepoints Where they intersect or cross each other, substantially asdescribed.

8. A suspending device for the purpose described, comprising a ball, ahook, and a flexible connection interposed between said ball and hook,substantially as described.

9. A suspending device for the purpose described, comprising a ball, ahook, a flexible connection between said ball and hook, and a linkattached to said connection intermediate its ends and forming a part ofsaid connection, substantially as described.

10. A suspending device for the purpose de scribed,coinprising a ball.,ahook, and a chain connecting said ball and hook, substantially asdescribed. I

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo'subscribin g witnesses.

, J. II. BATES.

Vitnesses:

R. G. HAIL, J OHN HAIL.

